Vendor Status:

Oracle is aware of the issue, and has resolved it in their January 2011 security patches.

Exploit Availability:

No exploit is required to target this vulnerability. An unauthenticated attacker can connect to the Node Manager service and set the configuration file location to a remote UNC path controlled by the attacker. The configuration file specifies the location of the password file, which can also be located on a UNC path controlled by the attacker. After the attacker has authenticated with their own password file they can use built in Node Manager features to execute commands on the Node Manager server.

Node Manager is a WebLogic Server utility that enables you to start, shut down, and restart Administration Server and Managed Server instances from a remote location. An unauthenticated attacker has the ability to set the configuration file via UNC path.

An unauthenticated attacker can connect to the Node Manager service and set the configuration file location to a remote UNC path controlled by the attacker. The configuration file specifies the location of the password file, which can also be located on UNC path controlled by the attacker. After the attacker has authenticated with their own password file they can use built in Node Manager features to execute commands on the Node Manager server.

Workaround:

Firewall rules should also be implemented to restrict the use of UNC paths on the Node Manager server as well as restricting access to the Node Manager service to only trusted sources.